After dealing with the cleaver, Han Fei’s bone-paring knife underwent obvious changes, the splinters healed and the aura became chillier and eviller. ‘This is a knife that might rebel against its owner. It contains a deep pool of hatred, not anyone can wield it.’ Most people would not use a knife like that, after all, in an intense battle, a second of distraction could mean a life lost. If one’s trusted weapon turned during battle, then the result could be fatal. Han Fei did not want to use this knife out of safety concern but he wasn’t really spoilt for choice. After putting the bone-paring knife and the single-eyed monster’s mask away, Han Fei held the branch given to him by Xu Qin. He reached out to touch the pig’s heart.
“Pig’s hearts soaked in blood: This is a delicacy made by a person with masterful skill in cooking. They are flavored with a unique combination of spices. The creator’s cooking level must have reached a recent breakthrough, the food has gotten so much more delicious. After consumption, there is a 60 percent chance of being cursed, 35 percent chance of increasing physical healing and 5 percent chance of triggering unknown effect.”
“This comes just in time.” Han Fei worked well with Xu Qin. Even though there was a chance that he might be cursed, Han Fei had a high point in luck, so normally speaking, the chance of him being cursed was low. He kept the pig hearts skewer inside his inventory and turned around. Han Fei realized Xu Qin hadn’t returned from the old house.
“Xu Qin?” Seeing the pig’s mask that Xu Qin had sliced through, something suddenly dawned on Han Fei. He led the snake and hurried into the house. The wooden door was left ajar. The courtyard was soaked in blood, it was like they had entered into a red world. The walls, trees and ground contained traces of cuts. An extremely gory massacre had once happened here. ‘Looks like Xu Qin has lost full control of herself at least once already. When I was following the single-eyed monster, I heard sounds of crunching and munching. Xu Qin would only engorge herself when she was out of control.’
Following the trail that was painted by blood, Han Fei entered the main hall. Once he did, he was greeted by a bloody proclamation on the wall—All the butchers are chasing after me, you will die if you keep on following me. Head south and do not turn back. Han Fei searched through the house and found no trace of Xu Qin. He stopped to study the message on the wall, the handwriting was similar to the ones Xu Qin left on her own door on the 5th floor at Happiness Neighbourhood. ‘Xu Qin is worried about dragging me down with her? But what exactly could she have possibly done to have earned the ire of all the butchers?’
Xu Qin probably had her own complications to face, the fact that she had not returned to Happiness Neighbourhood for so long should be a big enough warning sign. ‘The blood mist came from the north and Xu Qin told me to head south. Looks like the north side is the most dangerous part of Cattle Alley.’ One of the main reasons Han Fei entered Cattle Alley was to acquire a profession and to unlock the hidden profession, Midnight Butcher, he had to go to the House of the Butcher and the house was situated at the most northern point of Cattle Alley. ‘At the moment, all the butchers are chasing after Xu Qin, this is a perfect opportunity for me. Only by becoming a Midnight Butcher that I am capable of helping her. Thankfully I have the forethought to return the table knife to her, now that her set of knives is complete, she should be able to take care of herself better.’
Han Fei did not leave in a hurry, he waited until the 3 hours was up before he left the old home. “If we run into danger, you better take care of yourself first. Don’t mind me.” Han Fei touched the anaconda on its head. After their encounter with Xu Qin, the snake had been in a bad mood. It was probably because Xu Qin failed to recognize it. “You’ve changed too much, it’s understandable that she couldn’t recognize you at one glance.” Then again, even the system could not tell what this ‘black snake’ was, much less Xu Qin.
Han Fei was just one step away from unlocking the hidden profession, he did not intend to give up now. Since he could leave the game at any time, now was the perfect time for him to explore the map. Furthermore, he wanted to find out what happened to Xu Qin and why she had put on the pig’s mask. ‘According to the system, I have to remember to wear a mask before entering the House of the Butcher. Has Xu Qin gone into that house? I heard the hairdresser and the waiter mention the word butcher at the dumpling shop. Even though the hairdresser did not wear a pig’s mask, he appeared to be working for the pig-faced monster, helping them hunt something.’ The clues strung in his mind. After Han Fei arranged the pieces, he came up with this hypothesis, ‘The pig-faced monsters, the hairdresser and even Xu Qin, they appear to be looking for someone.’
Han Fei who had familiarized himself with Cattle Alley now wanted to get to know this place’s unique history. He not only wanted to become the Midnight Butcher, he also wished to experience Spider’s twisted inner world for himself. ‘The Spider and Butterfly were mortal enemy. Only by meeting Spider that I have a chance to know Butterfly and their weakness.’
After making all the preparations, Han Fei entered the blood mist. The mist thickened the further north he went. Dead carcasses and dirty clothes piled up against the walls. Bloody objects littered the ground. ‘Such a maddening place.’ There were more pig-faced monsters in the blood mist, they were all controlled by madness. Wielding various cold steel, they patrolled the alleys with labored breathing and crimson eyes. Compared to the monsters on the outside, the monsters here looked stronger and crazier. However, Han Fei did discover something interesting about them.
When they found a prey, instead of killing them and consuming them directly like the outside monsters, these pig-faced monsters would instead torture their preys until they had only one last breath left and then dragged them deeper into the blood mist. Han Fei had encountered more than one pig-faced monster dragging their dying prize behind them. Their consciousness appeared to be controlled by some kind of existence. Their desire to feast was suppressed as they delivered their prey to some unknown location.
This contradictory behavior garnered Han Fei’s attention. Taking a big risk, he decided to tail one of the pig-faced monsters. The blood mist helped to smother Han Fei’s presence. Combine that with hide and seek’s passive ability and Han Fei’s carefulness, the monster did not notice Han Fei. They walked down several alleys. Han Fei memorized all the paths they took just in case he needed to retreat. The blood mist coagulated. But the strange thing was Han Fei could hear constant echoes of pleading screams at this horrifying place. It was as if people were still trying their best to survive even in the darkest of despair.
‘Are there even living humans left at Cattle Alley?’ The alley became narrower and narrower. Han Fei followed the monster for a full half an hour before the scene before their eyes changed. At the end of the alley, Han Fei saw a large meat packing plant!
If the alleys filled with trash and carcasses were the blood arteries and veins, then this plant would be the heart of Cattle Alley. The blood mist that covered everything originated from deep inside the plant. Han Fei stopped moving subconsciously. When he looked up at the plant, the desire deep within him was all evoked. The worst part of his memory was pulled out and flooded his mind. There appeared to be a voice inside the plant calling him, telling him to put away all the constraints and allow his beastial nature to take over his body.
‘Isn’t that Fu Gui Meat Packing Factory?’ After spotting the factory, Han Fei immediately looked around. In real life, the living compound where Spider once called home was right next to the plant so that should be reflected inside the cryptic world as well. However, Han Fei’s visibility was seriously hindered by the blood mist. He couldn’t see too far into the distance and there was no more alley that led away from the plant. After a moment’s hesitation, he sneaked into the plant.
Once he entered, Han Fei almost suffocated on the empowering smell of blood. The entire interior of the plant was red. Walking through it would give the impression that one was wading through a red sea. Before Fu Gui Meat Packing Factory in real life closed down, it did more than its name suggested. Other than butchering the livestock, it also dry-froze the meat for storage, manufactured meat products and provided cold transportation service as well. To Han Fei’s consternation, the plant in the cryptic world did as much as the plant once did in real life. Everything was automated, so there was no one around. The only difference was the position between livestock and humans had been switched.
With just a quick glance, Han Fei’s stomach almost turned. The sights knocked the breath out of him. Blood mist covered his eyes, and he was thankful for that because he had just taken glimpses of the most terrible scene he had witnessed ever since he started this game. A bloody night from his childhood drifted to the surface of his consciousness. Something that was hidden deep within his mind was slowly loosened. However, Han Fei did not notice these perceptive changes, all he wanted to do then was to leave this place as soon as possible. ‘This is no factory, this is hell!’
Emotional control was the basic skill of any actor but even for Han Fei who had a masterful level in acting, he needed a long time before he could gain control of his emotions again. Taking a deep breath, Han Fei knew he couldn’t stay frozen at a fixed location for long. He forced himself to move. He was still close to the entrance, meaning he had not reached the deepest depth of hell yet. The deeper part of the plant was where the endless screams and the blood mist came from. Nudging further towards it, Han Fei was careful to not touch anything around him.
When he reached the middle of the plant, the black snake suddenly wiggled in warning. It pulled at Han Fei to retreat but it was already too late. The supposedly empty meat packing plant suddenly echoed with thundering footsteps. Ghastly figures appeared from the inner part of the plant. They seemed to have just completed some kind of ritual, the mouths under their pig masks were bright with satisfied smiles. ‘There are so many of them here?!’
The number of monsters inside the plant was far greater than Han Fei predicted, it was too late for him to start hiding now. He tried to turn and run towards the entrance. When he passed a drainage sewer, the iron net underneath him rattled. Han Fei looked down and saw that there was a frightened boy waving at him inside the drain.
‘Wang Sheng?’ The boy was the child he once saved. With no time to lose, Han Fei opened the loose grate and dropped into the drain. Then he placed the net back on. Blood and organs swamped the drain. The monsters enshrouded in mist walked above them. The creatures dominated by hunger did not discover Han Fei and the boy. With his clothes dirtied by bloody water and horrible, polluted air rising around them, Han Fei slowly moved his body around. After the footsteps disappeared, Han Fei looked up through the gap in the net. The pig-faced monsters appeared to have gone out for another round of hunting.
The dirty and rancid drain was a sanctuary so Han Fei did not plan to leave so soon. He turned to look at the boy. After he made sure there was no monster around, he opened his mouth to whisper, “Why are you here?”
